Imperatifs

NO PLACE LIKE HOME–Mona Jerome, Founder/Director of Ever After Mustang Rescue in Biddeford, calls the government’s $50 million plan to round-up and relocate 25,000 wild mustangs in the Nevada desert “a waste of taxpayers’ money.” She says, “I’m not so sure they’re facing mass starvation that requires their being moved from their homeland,” and she should know. Her rescue operation exclusively cares for mustangs who’ve been supposedly rescued and relocated before, only to “fall through the cracks and suffer in many ways in the hands of adopters.” To sponsor your own corporate mustang here in Maine for just $300 per year, visit mustangrescue.org.

DIVA–Metropolitan Opera star Angela M. Brown touches down at First parish Church in downtown Portland to sing arias from Hiawatha, the sensational 1898 musical masterwork by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor [see “Longfellow Serenade,” Summerguide 2004] that swept the world. How perfect that this long-awaited concert brings Coleridge-Taylor’s genius just steps from the home of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, whose epic poem Hiawatha was his inspiration. This two-night offering takes music lovers straight to the shores of cool. longfellowchorus.com, $20

ON THE WAY THE PAPERBACK WAS ON

MY KNEE–Are airports the new libraries? Anew wave of book trading has taken hold in airports all over the country, including Portland Jetport. Drop your copy of America’s New “Wolf” by Gene Letourneau to the counter at Paradies in exchange for a battered copy of Not Without My Daughter or Valley of the Dolls. And so on. After your initial purchase, think of it as a library with wings. “A lot of people, mostly frequent flyers, know the program and enjoy it,” says Sarah MacConey at the PWMstore. theparadiesshops.com

THE BEES’ NEEDS–Limited to 25 registrants, University of Maine is offering a beekeeping course starting March 3 in Gray. The fivesession instruction includes field study and making honey. Whoever thought becoming an apiculturist wasn’t sweet? extension.umaine.edu, $75 per person or couple.

WI-FI ON THE FLY–The accidental tourist would be proud. Unusual local venues for Wi-Fi now include Concord Trailways buses (while moving!), The Downeaster (ditto), and Hadlock Field–for the Gisele Bündchens among us who want to monitor Fashion Week while pretending to watch the game. “Time Warner has the entire park wired. It’s a pretty strong signal,” says Chris Cameron of the Sea Dogs. “Ironically, the main dead spot is in the press box, but we’re working on it.” Train-wise, “We’ve been offering Wi-Fi for 3 years,” says Len Mulligan. “Our capability is 16 people per coach, using as much data as they want. We have a problem right around Exeter, but aside from that, when Sprint upgrades their systems, we’ll be even faster. ” WE LOVE THE MONK–TOURBUSters of Falmouth is putting together a glam bus tour designed to take Mainers to Broadway and catch USMgrad Tony Shalhoub starring in Lend Me a Tenor. No word if he’s found a part for his (TV) brother Ambrose. The April 24-25 trip, at $425, includes a bus ride to Manhattan, an overnight stay at the beautiful Marriott Marquee on Times Square, and a matinee show. Ambitious TOURBUSers can even combine the trip with a night performance of The Addams Family with Nathan Lane. tourbusters.com